Mom was Margaret Jane Jerome before she married Dad, Anthony J. Merck. In researching her ancestors to learn more about her family history, one quickly runs into very interesting characters and stories. Some of those will be reported here. Of course there are several surnames other than Jerome included in her family tree. Some of these are Renville (Rainville, de Rainville, etc.), Gosselin, Cook and others.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

(Francois Jerome arrived in Quebec from France about 1698. He was the first of our Jerome family ancestors to arrive in North America. This article, received from Sarrah Brown, explains that he was also known as Jean Francois Jerome Beaume Leblanc Latour and is also an ancestor common to families who use the surname Latour.)

Jean Francois Jerome Beaume Leblanc Latour was born about 1675 at St. Pierre, Medreac, St.-Malo, Bretagne (Brittany), France. the son of Jean Jerome Beaume Leblanc (b. 1650) and Jeanne Bougau (b. abt 1655). The parents of Jean Francois were also born at that ancient Brittany village.

The exact date of Jean Francois’ arrival in New France is not known at this time. Unlike our Cote, Lefebvre and Gagnon ancestors however, it is known that he arrived as a soldier in the Le Verrier French Regiment probably about 1695. Jean Francois first appears in Quebec parish church records as a witness at the wedding of fellow soldier, Noel Legault Deslauriers, on November 18, 1698 at Montreal. His occupation on the document is listed as: Soldat de la Compagnie, De m. Le Verrier. On March 14, 1701, Jean Francois is again a witness to the wedding of a fellow soldier, Jacques Theoret Lariviere, at Lachine Quebec. The Governor General of New France also attended and was a witness to this marriage as was the Commanding Officer of Francois’ regiment, Francois Leverrier. Between 1703 and 1705, Jean Francois is godfather and/or witness at three baptisms at Montreal. His Commanding Officer, Francois Leverrier, had been, in France, a Musketeer in service to the King of France prior to his being dispatched to New France as Commander of a Compagnie of Soldiers and still in the service of the King of France.

At the age of thirty, Jean Francois himself was married at Notre Dame, Montreal, on the 3rd day of November, 1705. His bride, Marie Angelique Dardenne was born the 19th of May, 1682 at Repentigny, Quebec, the daughter of Rene De’Ardeyne (Abt 1630-1710) and Marie Francoise Barbery (Abt 1650 – 1725). Present at the ceremony were several “Marchand, Bourgeois” (fur traders/merchants) as well as several of Jean Francois’ fellow soldiers of the “Compagnie de Sieur Du Verrier”. The bride’s father, Rene Dardenne and her brother Toussaint were also present.

Marie Angelique’s birthplace of Repentigny, at that time, was a tiny off-island agricultural community north of Montreal. La Rochelle, France, the birthplace of Marie Angelique’s father, was a seaport of Western France, on the Bay of Biscay. Marie’s mother was born at St. Germain, Paris.

By 1704, Jean Francois was Sergent dans les Troupes de la compagnie de Francois LeVerrier. The parents of Francois’ wife, Marie Angelique Dardenne, considering the tiny farming community where their daughter was born, may have arrived in New France as peasants. However, both Jean Francois as well as his wife Angelique were literate as they were “declared being able to sign” on their marriage certificate which casts considerable doubt on Angelique’s parents arriving in New France as peasants.

Following their marriage, Francois and Marie Angelique made their home in Montreal and the first eight of their twelve children were born at that city. Commencing about 1721, the remaining four children were born at St. Laurent. At some point following his marriage, Jean Francois was promoted to Capitaine in his regiment.

Jean Francois died at the age of eighty on April 19, 1744 at St. Laurent. Marie Angelique died on May 19, 1745 also at St. Laurent, just thirteen months following the death of her husband.

Francois Jerome born August 26, 1706 at Montreal. Francois married Marie Deniau Ditailly, daughter of Denau Ditailly and Marie Jean Adhemar St. Martin on October 12, 1733 at Montreal PQ. They had eight children at least three of whom died in infancy or in early childhood. During the French Regime, Francois was the earliest voyageur and trader from Quebec in the North West. He also traded under the British Regime. I believe it was Francois’ direct descendent Andrei Jerome who was arrested and tried following the infamous Finian Raid at the Hudson Bay Company Post at Red River in 1871 (see “Manitoba Raid” below).

Marie Angelique (twin sister to Charles) was born April 16, 1708 at Montreal; she died May 8, 1708.

Charles (twin brother to Marie Angelique) was born April 16, 1708 at Montreal; he died on June 21, 1709.

Marie Anne Angelique was born November 29, 1710 at Montreal. On November 7, 1729 at St. Laurent, Marie Anne married Paul Rapideau Lamer, the son of Jean Baptiste Rapideau dit Lamer and Francoise Fluery. they had fourteen children many of whom died in infancy or childhood; Marie Anne died December 28, 1786.

Nicolas Charles was born August 30, 1712 at Montreal. On January 11, 1740 at St. Laurent, Nicholas married Marie Jeanne Aubry Tecle Corneille, the daughter of Francois Aubry Tecle Corneille and Marie Jeannie Bouteilier Tetu. There is a record of them having one son, Francois Amable, who survived childhood and married; they also had a daughter, Marie Jeanne Josephe, whose fate is unknown. Nicolas died at forty-three years of age, on April 25, 1755 at St. Laurent.

Marie Susanne was born May 23, 1714 at Montreal. On January 3, 1738 at St. Laurent, Marie married Jean Blenier Jarry. They had ten children, many of whom died in infancy or childhood.

Marie Anne was born April 5, 1716 at Montreal. Marie died on June 9, 1719 at Montreal.

Pierre was born June 26, 1718 at Montreal. The identity of Pierre’s wife is unknown; it is believed he had a son Charles.

Jean Mathias was born February 24, 1721 (twin brother to Jean Marie Baptiste) at Jumeau de Jean Marie, St. Laurent, PQ.; Jean married Marie Louise Leduc on April 18, 1846 at Montreal, PQ. Marie Louise was born in 1724, the daughter of Joseph Leduc and Marie Andree Urtesbise. Jean Mathias and Marie Louise had ten children, most of whom appear to have survived childhood. Their son Francois born January 20, 1749 having been widowed married for a second time to Marie Louise Caille Jasmin, the granddaughter of Aubin Calliare dit Jasmin who, as did the paternal grandfather of Jean Mathias, Jerome Beaume Leblanc Latour, arrived in New France as a soldier in the service of the King of France.Marie Louise died on March 12th, 1781, Jean Mathias was re-married on November 11th of 1782 to Marie Louise Perrier but died August 17tt 1783 just nine months following his second marriage, at Ste. Genevieve PQ.

Jean Marie Baptiste was born February 24, 1721 (twin brother to Jean Mathias) at Jumeau de Jean Marie, St. Laurent PQ. On January 29, 1748 at Ste. Genevieve (Pierrefonds) PQ, he married Marie Elizabeth Gauthier dit Saguingorra. Jean and Marie had four daughters, three of whom survived infancy and married. Jean died on October 1, 1759 at the Hopital Generale de Quebec at the age of thirty-eight. Jean’s widow subsequently remarried; she died January 30, 1815 at Ste. Genevieve.

Elizabeth Barbe Marie born June 17, 1723 at St. Laurent. She married Francois Luberneau Meloche on February 11, 1747 at Ste. Genevieve (Pierrefonds) PQ. Elizabeth died January 29, 1748 at Lachine PQ, probably in childbirth.

Jean Baptiste was born April 6, 1725 at St. Laurent. On November 19, 1747 at St. Laurent, he married Marie Marguerite LaRiviere LeTarte, the daughter of Jean Baptiste LaRiviere LeTarte and Frete Lamothe. They had five children, four of whom appear to have surivived childhood. Widowed in 1771 at St. Laurent, Jean Baptiste was re-married in 1773 at Montreal to Marie Elizabeth Robrau Duplessis. Jean Baptiste died September 22, 1806 at Montreal.

Dit names mean “known as” or “called”; dit names were often the “noms de guerre” of a particular military company. However, dit names were also associated with physical characteristics or place of origin. In some cases, it’s the mother’s maiden name combined with the surname of the father. The peasants who relocated to New France were for the most part illiterate. However, even for the educated, spelling was not standardized. Baptismal, burial and marriage records were kept by the parish priest who wrote the names as he heard them.

By the early nineteenth century, the cumbersome surname of Jerome Beaume Leblanc Latour had morphed in various ways to LATOUR.